Day 25: Monteverde

Monday, April 22nd, 2019

Day 10 of Full Costa Rica adventure by Bamba Experience

Todays itinerary:
“Monteverde Canopy adventure

Get picked up in your hotel El Establo Mountain Hotel, Monteverde at 10:20 hrs for your Monteverde Canopy adventure with Extremo for 4 hrs.

Monteverde is a paradise for adventure lovers. You will get your adrenaline running with one of the best Canopy tours (Zip line) of Costa Rica.

Swing through the treetops on a zip line tour along 14 different cables. You will feel the excitement on the big tarzan swing, the 30 meters rappel, the Superman Cable measuring 1 kilometer in length, and the Underground Superman Cable through a 175 meters long tunnel.

During the tour, you will observe some beautiful views of the area from the 75-150 meters high cables. To reach the major heights, mix the extreme adventure together with the majestic forest and admire the rich natural beauty of the forest and its treasures.

If you’re lucky, catch an awesome view of the Pacific Ocean and Lake Nicaragua on a clear day. Observe over 100 species of mammals, over 400 species of birds (including 30 kinds of hummingbirds), tens of thousands of insect species and 2,500 species of plants (including 420 kinds of orchids) in one of Latin America’s most outstanding wildlife reserves. Keep your eyes open to catch a glimpse of diverse and beautiful wildlife including the jaguar, ocelot, Baird’s tapir, three-wattled bellbird, bare necked umbrella bird and the famous quetzal.”

We get up. The alarm did not go on, yet. A french old lady stand in the grass in front of my room, headphones on and calling home. She seems to need hearing aids. After 15 minutes I get on the balcony and tell her to calm down. Silence. I should have had dressed before.

I go for breakfast. As yesterday, opposite the street. No granola today. No problem. I have still got my granola import from Austria. There is nothing like dinkel crunchy from verival. She is surprised. I get more fruits.

After breakfast I wait for the driver for pickup. He is late. He is super unfriendly. Probably had a hard night.

The minibus is already packed with a Danish family, mom + dad + 3 daughters + Norwegian cousin. They are excited. We talk, nice people. How to get 16 seats in a Hyundai minibus. You can learn in Monteverde. Anyway, the driver goes speedy on a road, which is not a road. It is super dusty.

At Extremo we go to reception. There is a reservation by bamba. We get yellow bracelets. No need to show ID, just say your name as usual with every hotel, transportation, … . There is a 100+ US teen organization here. It is like an bees nest. Extremo is a little bit stressed. Finally we get our equipment, mine is already fixed with gaffa tape and manual sewing. I say to myself, already proofed, nobody died in it. People get different equipment, with or wihtout shoulder gear.

We wait for our guide. After a quarter off an hour they appear, explain how to handle the gear, always hand on the cable, always hand behind the slide, always pull your legs to body, and go. Behind us there is an Israeli couple from Tel Aviv. Nice people.

The first zip lines are like treetop in Austria. They get longer and longer. Some you can to as double team. The zip lines cross valleys in 800 meters long crossings. Some are 100 m above ground. More and more. More! Inbetween the Zip Lines I have to walk up to gain elevation. It is mostly easy walks, uphill, through a nice forest.

Suddenly we stand of a platform. That is no zipline, you have to jump down, after 5 m the cable catches you, Tarzan swing. While waiting in the queue resigners come towards me. Looks high. I jump, it is a giant swing, I touch the tree on die other side. The guide shouts “pull legs to body” – hey, it is a swing, while I rush backwards I pull the legs, as I rush forward, stretch. I swing higher, the guide shouts again, louder. Sissy. Ok. They catch me with braided air tubes. Sudden stop. My stomach says hello to the sun through my ears.

Next thing, I stand on a platform again. A guide is standing there, no zip line, no swing, just a rope down. He doesnot question me, puts my gear on the rope, does something, “jump”. I look, he smiles, I am no sissy, I jump and wait for the kick that catches me. No kick. Faster and faster. Hmm, time to think about the sissy thing. Magical it gets slower. I stop 30 m below. Aha. Cool. Again?

Superman. A guide turns my climbing harness backwards. We climb up a tower. 1 km cross a valley, 100 m over ground, face downside, legs in an additional harness, armed stretched out, no possibility to break other than air drag.

Then the tunnel, harmless. I didnot see a Quetzal, nor a Jaguar. Money back or AGAIN!!!

Friendly transport is bringing us back to the hotel. I get coffee and cake on the other side of the road.

I go to the pool and run 10 kms. If you donot tell Garmin that you run on a threadmill instead of “run” you run only 200 meters in an hour. The threadmill has survived a lot of things yet.

Sunset

Then I go the city for banco populare ATM, money flows. The ATM doesnot charge surplus. 150.000 CRC (colones) = 225,33 EUR (1 € = 665,69 col), anyway we pay USD or colones. Nobody knows EUR here.

I check the other oriental restaurant, the open kitchen. More choice than the beer house. All the other restaurants are either at the supermarkets and meat barbecue based or donot look so nice. I meet the Danish family. A simple, but certainly the best burger I had so far in central america. With Yucca fries. Fantastico.